by Chandra Ryan
It didn’t help that the closer she got to the house, the more on edge she felt. She’d never been a paranoid person but she would swear someone was watching her. The hair on the nape of her neck bristled and she couldn’t stop glancing around at her surroundings. By the time the house came into view she was so relieved to see the comforting structure that she didn’t notice the snapping of twigs as she took her next step. She didn’t know what’d happened until the ground gave out under her. She tried to jump backward but it was too late. Her stomach tingled under the weightless sensation of falling and then blinding pain filled her head as she hit something hard on the wall of the hole. Everything went black.
Chapter Four
Jasper paced the length of Kat’s room as the doctor ran his battery of scans on her. So far the man hadn’t found anything seriously wrong with Kat but there had to be some reason she hadn’t woken up.
“Would you please sit down already? You’re making me nervous.”
He wanted to tell the good doctor exactly where he could put the damn chair but he refrained. He couldn’t blame the doctor for Kat’s condition and he certainly couldn’t blame the man for his issues at work. Still, today had been one of the worst days of his life and he had no idea how to fix everything that’d gone wrong.
Sinking into the chair, he pulled out his digital reader and started going through the correspondence with his boss. The man seemed genuinely confused about how Jasper’s preliminary report had gone missing. And the message read sympathetic enough in all the right places. But someone had fed classified information to Representative Loase. The three messages Jasper had gotten from the man were enough to tell him that. If not his boss, then who?
He rubbed his temples as he studied his boss’s words again. There had to be something he was missing. Desperate to find the answer, he flipped over to Loase’s last note. The bastard had the nerve to threaten Jasper with termination if he didn’t “resolve this matter quickly and return to the job the people paid him to do.” It read as if Jasper were charging the people for some vacation or pet project. It made his blood heat with anger and frustration.
He was doing his job, damn it. The Land Authority had been created to protect the citizens’ right to own land. And even if he weren’t doing his job, Loase didn’t have the authority to fire him. Yes, the representative could lean on Jasper’s boss, but he couldn’t threaten to terminate him. Unless he had Jasper’s boss under his thumb.
The headache intensified as the vicious loop continued to circle in Jasper’s mind. He had to find some new avenue for his investigation or risk going insane. He pulled up the original three land seizures one at a time and scrolled through them, searching for anything he might have missed the first three dozen times he’d read through them. But the only thing he hadn’t seen was the information that hadn’t been included on them. He needed to find out who’d bought the seized land from the government. Maybe that would give him the break he needed.
He sent a message to one of his friends in the records department requesting the information and then went back to pacing. The doctor threw a nasty glare in his direction but then ignored Jasper as he started packing up his tools.
“It’s a miracle she doesn’t have a concussion. But then, she did always have a hard head. Don’t get me wrong, she’s got her fair share of bumps and bruises, but the worst of it is a broken ankle. Which is a far sight better than what I expected. I’ve set it and wrapped it to keep it temporarily immobilized. I can seal the bone as soon as she wakes up, but she’ll still have to take it easy until it’s completely healed.”
Jasper quirked an eyebrow at him. “So are you planning on drugging her or tying her to the bed for the next three weeks?”
The doctor laughed heartily and then slapped his palm across his knee. “I think I like you, son.” He picked up his bag before he started walking toward the door. “Oh!” He turned toward Jasper as he pulled a bottle of pills out of his jacket pocket. “When she wakes up she’ll need two of these every four hours for the pain. She’s likely to be a bear but that’s nothing new. Best get used to it now if you’re planning on sticking around.”
Jasper wanted to tell the man that he had no plans of going anywhere but forced himself to stay silent. Of course he was leaving. Saying otherwise would only make him a bigger liar. So instead he put on a stiff smile and merely nodded. “Do you know how much longer it’s going to be before she wakes up?”
“Could be a day, could be five minutes,” he said with a shrug. “These things take what they take. I’ll be out here first thing in the morning regardless.”
He thanked the doctor and walked him to the door before returning to Kat’s bedside to keep watch over her. It was going to be a long night, excruciatingly so if she didn’t wake up soon. Thankfully his reader buzzed in his pocket, giving him a momentary distraction.
Lands sold to LMX-3 Energy. No auction. Hit a sensitive info flag when I accessed files so can’t help any further.
He had assumed a large farm or ranch conglomerate had bought the lands, not an energy company. Thanks. We’re even.
The message had only been gone for a second before he got a reply. This blows back on me and you’re going to owe me. Big time!
You got it. He sincerely hoped his friend didn’t face any disciplinary action, but Jasper needed the information badly enough to risk it. He leaned forward to run his hand over Kat’s forehead. She didn’t have a fever but touching her made him feel better. And he needed to remind himself why he was willing to risk everything before he sent his next message. Hell, he wouldn’t turn down a shot of something strong either if it were offered. His father had always been difficult to deal with under ideal circumstances and these circumstances were far from ideal. But since he didn’t know where Kat kept her alcohol, he’d just have to do this sober.
Still, even after he sent the message, he wished there were another way. If the information had already been flagged, though, going through the regular channels would only put everyone on alert. And if his father excelled at one thing, it was circumventing the “regular channels”. Now he just had to wait.
A soft moan shifted his entire focus onto the woman in the bed in front of him. He’d never been so thankful to be playing nurse in his entire life. Leaning forward, he swept his finger over her forehead again. “I’m right here, Kat. The doctor’s checked you out. You took a nasty fall. Overall, you’re in pretty good shape but probably in some pain. He gave me some pills to help with that. Do you feel up to taking them?”
“Please. Everything hurts. And I’m thirsty.”
He ran his hand over the top of her head as he stood. “I’ll get you some water. But don’t try to move while I’m gone. You managed to make it out of your fall mostly unscathed, but you did break an ankle.”
He waited for her to nod before leaving her. When he returned with the water, he helped her sit up enough to prevent her from choking. He let her drink her fill before handing her the pills to swallow. “You should feel better soon.”
She moved her leg under the cover and immediately hissed in pain. “Yep. Feels broken.”
“Because you can tell better than medical imaging?”
“One of those things you have to feel to believe, I guess.” Her smile was weak but it still made him feel better. “If the doctor has already been here, why didn’t he just fix it then?”
“Apparently using a laser on an unmedicated patient is frowned upon by the licensing board,” he said teasingly. “Go figure.”
She huffed at him as she rolled her eyes. “Okay, the question might have been a stupid one, but you didn’t have to mock me. I’m in pain here and just regained consciousness, after a rather terrifying fall, I might add.”
“I wasn’t mocking you.” He laughed softly as he knelt next to the bed. “I’m teasing a little. Sorry. I’m just relieved you’re awake.”
She smiled warmly and reached out to take his hand. “It’s okay. I’m glad you’re here.” She
allowed him a second to bask in the glow of her compliment before she added, “I’m going to need someone to feed the animals, gather the eggs, milk the cows, oh, and monitor the far pasture for sinkholes.”
He was so overwhelmed that for a moment he just let her words wash over him. He didn’t even know where to start. Stan or Mark could probably show him where the feed and supplies were, but they had jobs of their own. They couldn’t hold his hand while he learned what needed to be done. A sudden burst of laughter from her brought him out of his mental spiral before he’d found a reasonable solution. “I’m glad you find this amusing. But forgive me if I don’t share your sense of humor.”
“The look on your face.” She laughed a little harder. “I don’t think you could’ve looked more terrified had I told you I wanted to introduce you to my parents.”
In a literal sense, that would be rather terrifying, seeing as they were deceased. But he guessed she meant the statement more in a metaphorical, relationship stage kind of way. “And you find that amusing?”
“No. I find it amusing that you actually think I’d dump all that on you.” She was still smiling but the laughter had finally stopped. “I’ve got ranch hands for a reason. They’ll be okay until I’m back up on my feet.”
“Okay, maybe it was a bit…much to digest all at once. But I could help,” he argued. “Actually I’d like to help.” He wanted to help so much that the desire worried him a little. She couldn’t be classified as a damsel in distress—her strength and intelligence prohibited it—and he didn’t do the role of knight in shining armor. And yet, here he was. “And it would help keep my cover,” he added in explanation. “As long as I’m here, I might as well play the part.”
“About that.” The humor died in her eyes. “I don’t think people are as fooled by your story as you think they are.”
His stomach knotted as she told him about her conversation with Mark. “The doctor didn’t say anything about me being here under false pretenses. I’m your intended as far as he’s concerned.”
“Well, Mark’s heard something and he isn’t happy about it.”
“And that happened right before your accident?”
“Yeah.” She shifted under the covers but didn’t grimace this time. He could only guess the pain pills were starting to take effect.
“Any chance he’s the one behind your fall?”
She shook her head. “I don’t think so, but I guess anything is possible at this point.”
“Why don’t you think it’s him?” he pressed.
“Just a hunch. It doesn’t add up. He couldn’t have possibly known that I was coming to talk to him today. And even if he did, he couldn’t have anticipated which path I’d take.” Her eyes fluttered as if she were already fighting off exhaustion. “Anyone could’ve fallen down that hole.”
Just like anyone could’ve been hurt in the barn fire. The saboteur apparently didn’t care who he hurt as long as Kat looked negligent as the ranch’s owner. “I think that’s the point. You aren’t the target, your ranch is.”
“Comforting.” Her eyes popped open suddenly. “Wait. If the person wanted someone to fall down a hole to make my ranch look bad, what are the odds they only dug one hole?”
He ran a hand through his hair as he cursed. “They’d have to dig several to ensure someone got hurt.”
“There could still be more out there.” She tried to get out of the bed, but Jasper put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. “What? I’ve got to warn my workers.”
“The only thing you’ve got to do is rest. I’ll give the warning.”
She considered him for a moment before yawning loudly. “Okay. But only because these damn pills are making me sleepy.”
“You’re welcome.” He stood and then walked to the door but she stopped him before he could actually leave.
“On your way back, could you grab reader twenty-three from my office? If I can figure out what Mark was scanning for in the back pasture today, I might be able to determine if he’s behind the recent not-so-accidental accidents.”
“You got it.”
“Thank you,” she said softly as he left.
He smiled at the token gratitude. Better late than never. He passed the warning off to the others as quickly as possible and then grabbed the requested reader before returning to Kat’s room. He hated leaving her alone in her current condition. Yes, it wouldn’t be difficult for her to get one of her workers to help her. But until he found out who’d set the fire in the barn and dug that hole, he didn’t trust any of them. Plus, as silly as it might sound, he wanted to be the one she leaned on.
“Looks like it’s been wiped clean,” he said as he handed her the scanner. “But here it is.”
“Thanks.” She took the device from him and started to type in commands quickly. “One of the perks of being the owner. I get to set up the access codes. Nothing gets deleted from these things permanently unless I do it.”
He watched her scroll through lines of data until his own device vibrated in his pocket. He could easily guess who’d sent the message but, still, when he saw his father’s name on the screen, his stomach tightened with anxiety. That was nothing compared to the stomach cramps brought on by the message itself though. He’d asked his dad to do a little digging and see if he could find out how much LMX-3 had donated to Loase’s election fund. Turned out his father had really come through, even finding several shell companies the energy giant had funneled money through. The number on the screen was stunning. “Any reason a major energy company would be interested in your land?”
She glanced up from her reader to ask, “Why?”
“Because they’ve invested enough in Representative Loase’s election fund to buy a small planet. Wondered if they were looking to cash in.”
She typed in a couple more commands before saying, “It looks as if Mark noted several concentrations of something called inomoniam.” She scrolled through a couple more pages. “A lot of concentrations of the stuff, actually.” She turned her reader so he could see the screen. “Do you know what it is?”
“Sorry, didn’t take many geology classes in college.” He typed the name into his reader and then froze when the results came back. “Shit. This is bad. Inomoniam, when refined, is the main component in H8.” He didn’t need a background in geology to recognize that chemical.
“H8?” What little color she’d managed to regain drained suddenly as she typed the new search into her reader. “It has to be Mark. He’s working with the energy company so they can get their hands on my land.”
“Looks that way. He’s found enough pockets of the stuff to destroy several small planets, or one large one.” Once the element had been refined into H8 there would be no defending against it. Spray it over a planet’s surface and every living thing would be dead in twenty-four hours. “I’ll get the sheriff out here.”
She didn’t look up from her reader as he sent the message to the sheriff. Instead she held the device tightly as she flipped through the pages of information. “Why would he do this?” She spoke the words so softly that they seemed more for her benefit than his. “According to this, mining inomoniam wouldn’t just destroy the ranch, it would poison the land for a hundred square miles,” she said as she continued to scan articles. “The mining companies have to break layers of bedrock open in order to harvest it. As safe as they say the process is, there have been some serious leaks reported.”
“And maybe that’s why a representative and a major energy company are interested in a little ranch on an unimportant colony planet,” he said, remembering the question she posed to him that first night.
“Reckon there aren’t a lot of voices out here to raise a fuss if something does go wrong.” She ran her fingers through her hair in apparent frustration. “I just can’t believe this has been going on for months and I didn’t notice it.” She stared at the reader in her hands. “How did I not notice something was going on?”
“You were busy running your ranch. Sometimes we
’re so busy looking at the forest we don’t see the trees.”
She looked up at him and gasped sharply. “Oh god! Even if we stop Mark, how are we going to stop Loase? He’s just going to have more people file complaints and try to burn me out of house and home until he gets what he wants.”
Jasper hadn’t let himself plan that far ahead. It was just too overwhelming to think about. It brought back the vicious thought loop he’d been trying to avoid since she’d woken up. “I write my report and, if my boss isn’t in Loase’s pocket, you keep your ranch. End of problem.”
“And if he is in Loase’s pocket?”
“Then we resort to more drastic measures.” His stomach continued to churn as the scenario played out in his head. There was only one person who could help him if he couldn’t count on the people in his office. It would cost him everything though. He took a deep breath as he glanced at his reader’s screen. There was no way they’d let him keep his job if his father got involved. He’d have to start all over again.
“Like what? I don’t have the resources to go up against a government agency and a representative.”
He turned off the reader so he could look at her. “No, but I do. Have you ever heard of Ahnal Lee?”
“The terrorist? Of course. I may live in the sticks but I’m not dead.”
He kept his silence as she put the pieces together.
“Wait. You know him?” Something changed in her expression. It became closed, wary. That always happened when people found out he knew the notorious man who topped the government’s most wanted list. “Jasper Lee.” She stressed his last name. “Shit. No. I don’t believe it. You can’t be related to him.”
“He’s my father.” He may not broadcast that information but he never denied it. He had too much in common with his father to shun the man. They might have had different methods but they both worked toward the same end. “And let me ask you, who is more of a terrorist? The government, trying to take your land at any cost—willing to hurt people if necessary—or the man with the ability and the willingness to tell the universe about it?”
